Love Hina: Dying Breath
by Child of Ragnarok
Summary: A misjudged attack from Motoko ends up with Keitaro getting terminally injured. How will Motoko be able to bear this? Rated T for character death. Keitoko, Deathfic.
1. Dying breath

_Disclaimer: All things Love Hina belong to Ken Akamatsu, and not me. As if you didn't know that._

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Author's notice: Thanks for reviewing, everybody! I made a few major changes to the fiction, according to your reviews. It was meant to be a one-shot, but I changed that part. Keep reviewing, that is the only way for me to become better!

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**Chapter one: Dying Breath**

_by Child Of Ragnarok_

Our story takes place in a hospital in close proximity to Hinata-sou. It is late at night. Urashima Keitaro is lying in his hospital bed, his heartbeat fading by the minute. All the residents at Hinata-sou have gathered around his bed, called there by Doctor Hikari.

The girls are all looking at Keitaro in concern, except for one. Aoyama Motoko. She sits and stares out of the window, recalling the horrible incident leading to Keitaro's condition.

_-Flashback-_

"You PERVERT!" screams Naru, after yet another of Keitaro's accidents with Shinobu's skirt.

"It was an accident, really! Narusegawa, I swear! I… AAAAAAAAH!" Keitaro's pleading is cut short by a perfectly executed Naru-punch. Just as Keitaro has calculated, he lands in the hot spring, where (surprise surprise) Motoko is taking her evening bath.

"URASHIMA!" she bellows in fury, grabbing her sword. Keitaro just sighs and admits defeat, knowing what is coming to him. At least he thinks he does.

When Motoko steps forward to fire her chi attack, she somehow slips on the slippery floor, falls over and lands painfully on her back, losing her grip on the sword in the process. When she looks up, her eyes widen in terror.

Keitaro has dropped to his knees, the sword firmly lodged in his stomach. Motoko sees blood flow from his mouth, then he falls over and doesn't move.

"Urashima! Spirits, no. What have I done?" Motoko wails, then wisely decides to yell for help. A few moments later, Naru, Kitsune and Haruka run through the door.

"Motoko-san! Why are you…" Haruka begins, but then she sees Keitaro and falls silent. She just has time to say "Oh my goodness!" before running back inside to call doctor Hikari.

After explaining what she has done to everybody, Motoko pleads for help. "Narusegawa, please help me tend to Urashima. Konno-san, do what you can for Haruka-san. I believe she is in a major state of shock right now." Without further ado, Kitsune walks inside.

"Oh, my poor Keitaro!" Naru whines, tears flowing from her eyes. "We've gotta do something! Can't we bandage him up somehow?"

"Unfortunately, we cannot," is Motoko's reply. She tries to sound calm, but her own tears are flowing. "We cannot apply bandage because of the sword, and if we remove it, we will cause further injury."

Kitsune, Shinobu and Su enter the room, but Shinobu passes out instantly, only having time to say "Aaauuuuu, Sempai!"

"Doctor Hikari is coming now, and Haruka is taking a nice lie-down," says Kitsune. She looks down on Keitaro, bends down and gently strokes his cheek with the back of her fingers. "How bad is it?"

Motoko answers through sobs. "It… the sword has p-pierced his liver and… and his right k-kidney. I… how c-could I have m-misjudged the f-force of my s-stab like that? Now K-keitaro may die and it is all my fault!" At that point, she loses it completely and falls into Naru's arms, crying heavily. Naru, crying equally heavy, pats Motoko on the back, while thinking. "_She called him _Keitaro_, not Urashima. This must be serious._"

Doctor Hikari arrives and, with some help from Kitsune and Su, the only two who can still help, carries Keitaro into the ambulance and they are rushed from the scene.

When the girls, Haruka, Mutsumi, Keitaro's parents and Seta arrive to the hospital three hours later, Doctor Hikari comes and gives them the bad news. It appeared that not only did Motoko's attack cleave Keitaro's liver and kidney, it also cut right through the nerve center which controlled Keitaro's ability to heal. So, with no ability to heal and a massive hemorrhage in his intestines, hope had run out for Keitaro. Doctor Hikari had estimated his life to last for five more hours.

_-End of flashback-_

With no hope left, everybody is sitting around Keitaro's bed and crying. Except for Motoko, who still sits by the window, knowing she has commited a murder.

As Keitaro's blood pressure is dropping, he suddenly coughs. Everybody leans close to him. Motoko leaves the window and joins the others to hear what Keitaro has to say. Keitaro speaks what he knows will be his final words.

"Everybody… cough… I don't have long left now. Before I pass… hack, wheeze… there are a few things I want to tell you all." All visitors now cry silently.

"First, try not to mourn for me. You're too young, your lives are ahead of you. Don't grieve over the loss of mine." Shinobu breaks down into heavy crying.

"Second... Narusegawa, Kitsune, Shinobu-chan, Su-chan, and Motoko-chan." The girls lean close. "Thank you for being my friends. The time I spent at Hinata-sou was the happiest in my life. I will always hold a place in my heart for you all." The girls, crying fit to burst, take it in intervals to bend down and hug Keitaro tight, and plant a wet kiss on his face.

"Third... Mutsumi-chan." Mutsumi, tears welling out of her eyes, leans in. "You taught me what it felt like to kiss a girl, and at that time, you made me feel... loved. I will always cherish you for that." Mutsumi chokes out an "Oh my, Urashima-kun...", bends down and kisses Keitaro.

"Fourth... Mum, Dad, and Au... I mean, Haruka-san." They lean close. "Thank you for showing me where I belong. Mum and Dad, kicking me out of the house, and Haruka-san, telling me about my grandmother's wish was the best that ever happened to me. Thank you ever so much." Keitaro's parents' grief is beyond tears. Haruka wipes her eyes on her paper fan, which she pulled out by instinct when he began to say the A-word.

"Fifth... Seta. When you told me you saw a great archeologist in me, I took it to my heart. Also, teaching me those martial arts... I appreciated it. Thanks for helping in turning me into the person I am today. Seta curls his hands in his lap, tears dropping onto them.

"And finally… Motoko-chan." Motoko looks at him, tears pouring out of her eyes. "I won't hold you responsible for this. I know you didn't intend to do this to me."

"Keitaro… how can you be so forgiving? I have murdered you, but you still forgive me! Why?" she asks, while crying.

"Because… I love you, Motoko-chan. I want you to know that I love you. Now that you know, I can die in peace."

Everybody in the room falls silent. Then they all break down into heavy crying, Motoko crying the hardest of them all. Then she bends down and hugs him tight to her, weeping into his hair.

"I love you too, Keitaro…" she responds, and kisses him on his mouth. They remain like that, arms wrapped around one another, until Motoko notices something. Keitaro's heart has stopped beating.

"NO!" she screams. "Keitaro! Do not leave me, please, I beg of you!" But it is too late.

Whispering the word "Motoko-chan", he draws his final breath, forever ending the story of Urashima Keitaro.

**End of chapter one.**


	2. Running through her head

**Chapter two: Running through her head**

_by Child of Ragnarok_

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As Motoko sits there, cradling Keitaro's limp body in her arms, her life with him as the manager of Hinata-sou flashes in front of her. She doesn't react to anybody trying to comfort her, she's only thinking of their time together and what she could have had. 

She thinks back about him telling her he loved her. At least he knew that she loved him when he died. But now it felt unfair, that her eternal love only lasted for a few minutes.

She remembers the first time he had appeared at Hinata-sou and the first time she had struck him. Back then she was completely puzzled as to why she was feeling a tiny drop of remorse, something she had never done before when it came to striking a man. Now she knew it was because she had found him quite interesting. She realises that she had had feelings for him all along, she was just too stubborn to admit them.

She remembers the first time he had looked into her eyes. She could have drowned in them anytime. Those deep, black, caring eyes watching her could melt her heart whenever he looked at her.

She remembers their first date. Curiously, Keitaro didn't screw up like he usually did around Motoko, instead, she had had one of the most perfect evenings in her life. It had turned out that Keitaro had somehow obtained two tickets for a Kendo show, with the current masters of Japan participating. And even better, they were backstage passes. Motoko and Keitaro learned many tricks that night, and Motoko slept better than she had ever done before.

She remembers them sparring. Nobody, apart from Tsuruko, had given Motoko such a challenge as Keitaro had. She remembers when he had stopped her blade with only his hands, and she remembers when Keitaro had come back from the USA. She had sensed his chi being different, and she had challenged him to a duel – and lost. That was when her feelings for him really started to come out.

She remembers the first time they kissed, although it was an accident – Su had caught Keitaro unawares with a kick to the back of his head, sending him crashing down the stairs and into Motoko, flinging the two of them straight into a wall. As they hit the wall, their lips met, and Naru just _had_ to choose that moment to come into the room. Motoko had thought Keitaro would never come back to earth after that Naru-punch.

Looking back on her life, the time with Keitaro was the happiest in Motoko's life. Now it was all over. Keitaro was dead, and it was all her fault. She had killed her one true love. _Why? _she thought. _Why was my love taken away from me? Why am I cursed so? And why did I draw that stupid sword to begin with?! _She had thousands of questions for herself. Motoko wished more than ever that she could turn back time and reveal her true affection for him earlier, making it last longer. Now that possibility was taken away from her. She would never see him again. Looking around her, she could tell that all the girls were also crying, also remembering Keitaro as the wonderful person he was, but they could not possibly be feeling the same guilt as Motoko. After all, they weren't the ones who had killed him. The thought of it dragged Motoko's spirits to a corner of hell where the inhabitants ate, drank and breathed misery. Tears were pouring out of her eyes in a stream comparable to that of a broken dam.

The other girls make their final farewells (it took a long time for Naru) and left, leaving Motoko alone, crying out her grief and despair. Holding Keitaro's body in her arms both soothes and worsens the pain. Motoko wishes that there was some way for them to be together again. She cries even harder. _If there is any way for us to be together again,_ she thinks, _I will do it_…

As she holds Keitaro close to her, mourning her one true love, Motoko makes her decision.

The next morning, Doctor Hikari finds Motoko lying near Keitaro's body, in a pool of blood having formed from a deep slit in her throat. Her left hand tightly clutches Keitaro's hand, while her right hand holds a bloodstained knife. A letter lies near her. Two stories had ended that night, but a new story had begun – an eternal love story in the afterlife.

**End of chapter two.**


	3. The letter and the aftermaths

**Chapter 3: The Letter and the Aftermaths**

_by Child of Ragnarok_

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A/N: Wow! The third and final chapter. I had to do a slight bit of research for this chapter, but hey, if I can teach you a bit of Japanese history, then why not? Please read and review, as usual.

Forgot to add this before, but I made a minor change according to reviewer Earl Colby Pottinger.

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Five years have passed since the incident. Naru, still shocked to the core by Motoko's suicide, picks up the letter for what seems like the billionth time and reads.

_Forgive me._

_I knew how much Keitaro meant for all of you, and I took him away from you. There is no way for me to return him to you, but I can only say this:_

_Cherish your memories of him. That is not as good as the real Keitaro, but there is no better thing._

_All of you loved him. Your love was unspoken, some of you denied it, but it was there anyway. And I took it away from you. That is a crime for which I can never hope to make amends._

_I now do what I know I must – for my honor, and my love._

_Forgive me._

_Aoyama Motoko_

Tears flowing from her eyes (again), Naru remembers…

_-Flashback-_

The girls had recieved an urgent phone call from the hospital, from an incredibly shocked Doctor Hikari. When they had gotten there, the scene knocked all air out of her. Motoko lay there, looking so peaceful, almost asleep if it hadn't been for the gash in her throat.

Beside her, she could hear a thud and knew that it was Shinobu who had passed out, more than likely because of the amount of blood. Then Naru saw the letter. She picked it up and read it. Her face grew paler and paler with every word she read.

However, there was one thing neither of the girls could understand. Why didn't Motoko commit seppuku the traditional way by disembowelment, as her school stated must be done to make amends for terrible crimes? Why just slit her throat? As neither of them could figure it out, Su went to fetch Tsuruko, as she was ready-made to understand these things.

Tsuruko had been told about Motoko's suicide, but nothing could have prepared her for seeing her sister's cold, dead body. She managed to keep her tears hidden throughout the process of analyzing why Motoko had committed suicide the way she had, but you didn't have to be a Kendo master to feel her emotions in turmoil. Tsuruko wanted nothing more than to drop to her knees by Motoko's body and weep, but she knew she must be strong.

"I have finished my examination," concluded Tsuruko. "This is a form of ritual suicide called _jigai_, used by women, which is done by severing the jugular vein. Look closely."

Naru looked closely and saw that Motoko's cut, indeed, was not on the left side of her throat, on the common carotid artery, but on the right, the jugular vein.

"Being a woman, if Motoko was to commit seppuku, she would have needed permission from her superiors – that is, her mother – which she would never have gotten, and I also believe that she chose jigai because she was desperate to die and reunite with Keitaro-san, and thus wanted a quick death."

The funeral was held silently, the ceremony was both beautiful and terrifying. When Keitaro's coffin was lowered into the ground, Naru tried to force her tears back, but was unsuccessful, as was Tsuruko and Motoko's mother when Motoko's coffin was lowered. Beside her, she could see Haruka throw the paper fan high into the air, and the wind caught it and it drifted out of sight, before collapsing into Seta's arms. Keitaro's parents and Kanako were crying openly. After spending what seemed like many hours by their grave, the girls left in silence (not Kanako), but with tears flowing down their faces. What would life be without Keitaro and Motoko?

_-End of flashback-_

At first, Naru had been enraged with Motoko. First killing Keitaro, and then herself, inflicting more pain on the rest of them? But as time had passed, she had realized how unfair her feelings were. Motoko had been in even more pain than the others, and her heart's desire had been to reunite with her loved one. Naru would have done the same.

Five years had passed, and life was slowly, very slowly, returning to somewhat normal. It could never be fully normal, not without Keitaro and Motoko, but the girls knew neither Keitaro or Motoko would have wanted them to give up on living just because they had died.

Haruka had left Hinata-sou and Tokyo with Seta soon after the funeral, unable to bear the memories. She could still recall it – the look of horror on Keitaro's face, the blood dripping from the sword and his mouth and the fear and pain glowing in his eyes. Kitsune had taken up business with the tea house, and had turned it into quite a successful business, but she never returned to the cheerful, constantly tipsy Mitsune Konno everybody had known before. She had even given up drinking.

Naru spent each day crying herself to sleep, hugging Liddo-kun tight, as she had once done with Keitaro. She sighed. _Keitaro_. Never again would Keitaro peek up from the hole in the floor, never again would he enrage her with any of his perverted, wonderful antics. She had had a few wrestles with Su-chan, but they just weren't the same.

Kanako had taken over Keitaro's managing duties, but this was only temporary, until they could find a new manager. Kanako would never be able to work full-time as manager for Hinata-sou, there were too many demons.

Su had returned to Molmol. After Amalla gave up the throne, Su took it to rise as the Queen of Molmol. Of course, her friends were present at the ceremony, and the first command she issued as queen was two moments of silence to honor Keitaro and Motoko. Once again, everybody cried, even those who hadn't known either of the deceased, because of the overall low spirits of the crowd. Su was among those who cried the heaviest.

Mutsumi had started to grow watermelons for a living, and it was a successful business. People came from all over Japan for Mutsumi's melons, due to their flavor and size. (A/N: pun intended.) But her logotype was probably the most loved thing about her business. It showed a picture of a Liddo-kun sitting on top of a watermelon, and the watermelon had "K & M" carved into it (which she claimed meant "Kiwis & Melons", because she had kiwis too, but the girls knew that the letters meant "Keitaro & Motoko").

Naru sighed and got up, took her Liddo-kun, left Hinata-sou and disappeared into the blizzard.

When she reached the grave, Shinobu stood by it.

"Shinobu?"

The little girl turned around. "Hey, Naru-sempai."

"How long have you been here?" Naru asked.

"For a few hours," Shinobu answered. "I'm not too much affected by the cold, my mind has bigger things to deal with than cold."

Naru looked at Shinobu. "You really miss him, don't you?"

Shinobu didn't look up. "Yes, of course I miss Sempai. Like we all do. But life will go on."

Then Naru saw them. Scars on Shinobu's wrist. "You've been cutting yourself," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Yes," Shinobu responded. "I know I shouldn't have, but I needed some way to distract my mind from the mental pain, and the only way I could find was physical pain."

"Shinobu." Naru said, then put her arms around the younger girl. They stood like that for a long time. Then Naru asked: "Did you ever intend to take your life after all this?"

Shinobu was silent for a while, then answered. "Yes. I went so far once that I stood on the railway bridge, waiting for a train to come. But then I realized that Sempai… I mean, Keitaro-kun, wouldn't want that. So I left the bridge."

Naru nodded. "That's a good decision." She took Liddo-kun and placed him on the grave, next to a sword someone had placed there (most likely Tsuruko). Then the two girls turned and left the cemetery, to move on in life.

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Joy walks hand in hand with sorrow. The girls' lives will go on, but not return to normal. Their pain will lessen, but not go away. Such is the way of nature: We all know that those we love will die someday, but we can never be prepared for it to happen.

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The moral of this story: Life can be cruel, but it is our greatest gift. Don't waste it.**

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The end.

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**A/N: Well, there you have it. I've gotta tell you, I was pretty lucky to stumble across the _jigai_. I'm thinking of a Keisumi fic next, so I won't stop writing. There _will_ be a sequel to this fic too, which will be about Keitaro and Motoko's adventures in the afterlife (thanks to The light of darkness for the idea), so stay tuned.

This is Child of Ragnarok, signing off.


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